Curtis Matushin had hoped to take some pictures of a young black bear in the woods near Lake Vasquezio in northern Saskatchewan earlier this month.
But the wildlife photographer soon turned out to be too close to comfort the animal.
Matushin and his fiancée were returning to Vazquez, where he worked as a wildlife firefighter, looking for wildlife to photograph. After noticing the bear’s ambulance in the meadow, Matushin tracked it down with his camera and phone, as well as a box of bear spray.
After taking a few pictures, the bear seemed to sense his presence.
“He was sniffing the air … and he was looking for and trying to find me,” he said.
Matushin believed that the bear – at this point about 100 meters from him – would cross the path he had been on and move deeper into the forest to escape human contact. Instead, she walked over to him.
After approaching about 40 meters from him, Matushin left his camera and began to walk back, arming himself with bear spray and calling the animal to try to scare him.
“He looked at me, but he just kept walking down the aisle to me without worrying,” he said.
Matushin thought that the bear would deviate from the path he had taken and enter the forest, but came to him instead. (Submitted by Curtis Matushin)
Matushin tried to step into the woods to allow the bear to walk down the path, but she followed him there.
“[It] at that moment I knew I had been in a different encounter with a bear than I had ever had, “he said.
Insisting on wanting to take more pictures with his camera, he chose instead to make a video of the meeting with his phone. After about three minutes, the bear came close enough to spray a little, which immediately scared the animal.
Matushin managed to return safely to his car, where his fiancée was relieved that she had not gone with him.
Eventually, the bear was raised by a bear spray that Matushin used. (Submitted by Curtis Matushin)
“It’s almost like time is slowing down and you’re hyper-focused,” he said.
“I was focused on the bear, focused on not tripping while walking backwards … and having a good result for myself and the bear.
Matushin said training in bear safety through his work had prepared him well for the meeting and kept him calm. This is closest to a bear while walking.
The video has since become popular online, receiving more than 3.7 million views on the popular Facebook site ViralHog as of Thursday afternoon.
“I actually had friends who had watched the video but had no idea it was me,” he said.
“We talked in a group chat, and my friend found out, ‘I saw this video – it was you?’ I guess that’s how you know it went viral.”
The right steps have been taken, says the park’s ecologist
Saskatchewan states on its website that most bears are cautious around humans, but recommends “if you encounter a bear, cougar or other predator, keep your distance.”
Dustin Guedo, an ecologist from Parks Canada based in Waskesiu Lake, located in Prince Albert National Park, says Matushin took the right approach when the bear began to follow him.
“He was alert, always talking to the bear, trying to scare her,” Guedo said. “The result was good in the end.”
The only thing Matushin could do differently, Guedo said, was use the bear spray earlier.
Guedo says there may be various reasons why the bear started following him, but it is possible that because the bear was young, it was curious. Guedo says bear attacks on people in the park are rare.
Matushin, meanwhile, hopes the video can be used to show others how to handle the meetings, although he knows there are things he would do differently next time.
“It didn’t scare me away from the bush. If nothing else, it actually gave me more confidence.”
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